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The popular No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency novels by Alexander McCall Smith have been made into a series for HBO. Jill Scott plays heroine Precious Ramotswe. In an article for The Daily Beast, Stanley Crouch hails her nuanced performance, and the show's depiction of Africa.

Before there was The Full Monty, there were the Ladies of Rylstone. A few years ago, a group of middle-aged women in the tiny town of Rylstone, England, decided to try a new twist on an old fundraising opportunity. They were part of a charity organization called the Women's Institute, and one day they joked that it would be fun to do a calendar -- a girlie, pin-up calendar. In the nude. The result was $750,000 raised for leukemia research. Lisa talks with Tricia Stewart, Miss October, and Angela Baker, Miss February. In the new Ladies of Rylstone calendar, they're dressed in little more than a string of pearls.

Noah talks to fiddler Jay Ungar and guitarist/pianist Molly Mason about their new recording "The Lovers' Waltz," a collection of music they've played at weddings. Molly says sometimes a tune writes itself -- as if it's always existed and the role of the composer is to uncover what's always been there. Jay Ungar is best known for his composition "Ashokan Farewell" -- the sad fiddle tune used throughout Ken Burns' documentary "The Civil War."

The diminuitive British rapper Louise Harman, known as Lady Sovereign, is the first foreign female artist signed by Jay Z's Island Def Jam label. Despite her regal title, Lady Sovereign grew up in a public housing project in London, and her rhymes are anything but highbrow.

NPR's Neal Conan tells the story of Alison Bly, the so-called Dynamite Lady of minor league baseball. As part of his twice-monthly series Play-by-Play Conan watches Bly shoot across the sky as part of the ball park entertainment.

Best known as a backup vocalist for the E Street Band, and as Bruce Springsteen's wife, Scialfa occasionally finds time to record and play her own music. Hear her perform songs from Play It As It Lays and give an interview on World Cafe from WXPN.

Today is Spumoni Day!

Fans took over last night's US Open match in New York in a way that is uncommon for tennis. Matthew Futterman from the Athletic spoke to NPR's Ailsa Chang about changes in tennis etiquette.

Director Ruth Leitman and Wrestler Lillian "The fabulous Moolah" Ellison discuss the new documentary Lipstick and Dynamite. The film takes a look at the sport of lady wrestling, a phenomenon that started in the 1930s. The fabulous Moolah is now in her '80s and still wrestling.

Otis, who died in 2012, started out leading a big band. Later, as a talent scout, he discovered such performers as Big Mama Thornton, Esther Phillips and Etta James. Originally broadcast in 1989.

J.J. Johnson is often termed the greatest jazz trombonist of all time. He introduced staccato phrasing to the difficult instrument and played with unprecedented speed. This two-volume set includes most of Johnson's hits.

Twenty years after Hurricane Katrina, retired Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré, who led recovery efforts as commander of Joint Task Force Katrina, urges people to be prepared for future disasters.